Sen. Inhofe: Big Oil’s MVP

Did you know the American Petroleum Institute puts out a legislative scorecard and voter guide? I didn’t … until it was uncovered by National Wildlife Federation researchers. Turns out Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) got a perfect score.

That goes a long way towards explaining why Sen. Inhofe is organizing a rare boycott today as the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. Sen. Inhofe must be concerned that Republicans outside of his committee may be willing to craft a bipartisan compromise on energy legislation. Basically, Sen. Inhofe has decided his committee members will take their ball and go home, organizing the Republican members of his committee to skip out on this week’s markup of the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act and obstruct the overall legislative process.

“Senator Inhofe has taken his team off the field before the real action has even started. Behind the scenes, you can be sure Big Oil is giving Sen. Inhofe a standing ovation,” said Jeremy Symons, senior vice president of the National Wildlife Federation. “The oil industry has led a multi-million dollar assault on clean energy legislation to protect its profits at the expense of America’s energy security. Now, Sen. Inhofe is once again coming through in the clutch for Big Oil.”

To commemorate Sen. Inhofe’s status as Big Oil’s MVP, the National Wildlife Federation has issued a limited-edition trading card with some of Sen. Inhofe’s career milestones. Check it out:

Among the highlights:

Sen. Inhofe and his leadership PAC have received $2,182,631 from the oil & gas industries since 1998, according to OpenSecrets.org. During that time, America’s foreign oil imports have increased 21 percent.

Sen. Inhofe has increased his oil & gas industry contribution yield each campaign cycle, finishing among the Senate league leaders in 2008.

Sen. Inhofe took to the Senate floor in 2003 to call global warming “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”

“The Clean Energy Jobs Act will ease our dependency on oil, create new jobs by investing in made-in-America clean energy, and reduce pollution to protect our children’s future,” said Jeremy Symons. “Senators should roll up their sleeves and show up to work on the energy reform America needs now.”